The Lakers erased a 15-point deficit in the final seven minutes to beat the Mavs, 116-110.
The win started off their six game road trip on a positive note. The Lakers went to Dallas to go up against No. 1 pick forward Cooper Flagg in a full house. Sold-out crowd for forward Luka Doncic in his second visit to Dallas representing the purple and gold, after his shocking trade to Los Angeles almost a year ago.
Doncic seems to play with extra fuel against the Mavs since the trade. Coming into Saturday’s game, he averaged 33 points, 9.3 rebounds and 9.7 assists in the three games against Dallas. He continued to look comfortable and play with purpose in his old playground as he totaled 33 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds on Saturday.
The Lakers had a quick start, ending the first quarter with a 37-28 lead. Doncic carried the Lakers offense throughout the first half with 17 points and seven assists. He had three 3-pointers on Saturday, making him the youngest player in NBA history to hit 1,500 threes. Although the Lakers led 65-52 at halftime, they were quickly outscored 41-14 by the Mavericks from the third quarter until the start of the fourth, embarrassingly seeing their 13-point lead turn into a 14-point deficit.
However, the Lakers went on a 27-6 run after going down 15 in the fourth quarter, sparked by forward LeBron James in the final six minutes of the game. James scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, while forward Rui Hachimura had a big four-point play and a 3-pointer in consecutive possessions to take the lead and escape Dallas with the win.
For the Mavs, guard Max Christie, who was involved in the trade for Doncic, scored 24 points while forward Naji Marshall had 21 points and 11 rebounds as Dallas’ four-game winning streak ended.
On the downside for the Lakers, with center Anthony Davis sidelined for the Mavs, center Deandre Ayton was an X Factor that could’ve had more impact on the boards and played more aggressively. Guard Gabe Vincent seemed to have another game doing mostly cardio, not making any scoring impact on the court.
On the bright side for the Lakers, Hachimura got a moment to shine from outside the arc after shooting an uncharacteristic 31% from 3-point range through mid-January. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt once again provided excellent energy and hustle. Lastly, the Lakers get a much-needed win to move to 27-17 and stay in fifth place in a tightly contested Western Conference.
The next test for the Lakers is a visit to Chicago on Monday.